Oroville evacuees return home, worry about future

Though clearly grateful to be back home and eager to return to some sense of normalcy, some Oroville evacuees told ABC7 News they're already thinking about how to be better prepared if there is a next time. (KGO-TV)

They were instructed to flee Sunday because a damaged spillway threatened to collapse and send water flowing into the valley north of Sacramento. Now, water levels at Lake Orville are dropping and it is expected to be low enough to handle an incoming storm.

Work continues nonstop at the dam itself Tuesday night. The reprieve from mother nature has reduced the danger to surrounding communities, enough so that officials felt comfortable letting people return to their homes.

"We have concluded that it is safe to reduce the immediate evacuation order, currently in place to an evacuation warning," said Sheriff Kory Honea.